Oscar Piastri on top of F1 world with a lot more winning to do after Saudi GP victory

JEDDAH – Oscar Piastri put Australia on top of the Formula One world championship for the first time since 2010 on April 20, but the McLaren driver said he was still a long way from where he wanted to be despite his

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix victory

.

As he told reporters after the barrage of celebration fireworks had subsided over the Red Sea and the business of packing up had begun in the paddock, there was a lot more winning to do.

Piastri has 99 points to teammate Lando Norris’ 89 and Max Verstappen’s 87. Champions McLaren stretched their lead over Mercedes in the constructors’ standings to 77 points.

“I’m not that bothered by the fact that I’m leading the championship, but I’m proud of the work and the reasons behind why we’re leading the championship,” Piastri explained with his usual calm.

“Leading the championship is a result of all the hard work we’ve done in the off-season, the hard work I’ve done personally, the hard work the team’s done.

“I’m more proud of all of those things than I am of the fact that I’m leading the championship because, ultimately, I want to be leading it after Round 24, not Round 5.”

Piastri started the season with a ninth-place finish in his home race and the success on April 20 made him the first to take back-to-back victories.

He has now won three of the five races and leads teammate Norris by 10 points, after starting the evening three behind.

The last Australian to lead the championship was Mark Webber, now the 24-year-old Melbourne native’s manager, at Red Bull in 2010.

Four-time world champion Verstappen, who started on pole and finished second for Red Bull after they went wheel to wheel into the first corner, was well aware what he is up against with that kind of assistance in Piastri’s corner.

“People forget a little bit that last year was his second year,” he said of the new leader.

“Now he’s in his third year and he’s very solid. He’s very calm... barely makes mistakes – and that’s what you need when you want to fight for a championship.

“And I think with Mark by his side, he’s helping him a lot. It’s great.

“People learn from their own careers – that’s what I had with my dad, and Mark is advising Oscar.”

Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc took Ferrari’s first podium of the season in third, while Norris finished fourth, after battling back from 10th.

Mercedes’ George Russell and Kimi Antonelli took fifth and sixth respectively, ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in seventh and Williams pair Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon in eighth and ninth. Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar took the last points-scoring spot.

Verstappen bit his tongue to stay out of trouble after clearly disagreeing with stewards over a costly five-second penalty for the first-corner incident. 

He and Piastri raced into the corner, with Verstappen running wide and staying ahead before being penalised for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

Verstappen was reluctant to talk about it.

“The problem is that I cannot share my opinion about it because I might get penalised also, so it’s better not to speak about it,” he said when asked for his take on the start. REUTERS